Chronicles of the Peony Reaper
by his-little-troll
Summary: Who was Botan before she became a reaper and how does it pertain to what is happening now?


Chronicles of the Peony Reaper

Botan read and reread the letter. Two years had passed since she had received such a note. The envelope was always a pale blue, the letters a golden calligraphy that always seemed to be entirely trapped on the very tip of her memory, screaming and thrashing and begging to fall over into her conscious thought. Yusuke and the others would murder her if they ever found out she got these malevolent parcels. They were always clipped to the foot of a frazzled, struggling bird. Always the bird was different and always the bird fell to its death after delivery. She had tried once to follow the direction she had seen it come from to no avail. Even now her hands shook and she turned in all directions. He (she just knew without explanation that it was he) always seemed to find her on her oar, flying in the middle of nowhere with no witnesses and no sign of where he was. This only made his threats that much more real. If he could time just his deliveries so perfectly, who's to say he could not time his follow through the same.

There was always a condition, an act that would keep her safe. And this was the worst of the lot. She had thought when Yusuke returned and everyone got back together again that her company had scared him off. Surely he would not risk an attack on the friend of the two strongest living humans, an ice apparition, and a notorious thief. The possibility of retribution surely had him running away with his tail between his legs. And yet now, two years later, she found this. Only now there was no condition. No safety net.

She had failed to follow through with his last demand. He had meant to force her away from her protection, to make her leave behind all of her friends and loved ones. And try as she might, she could not leave them. The guilt had eaten her alive for months. She was sure that Keiko or Shizuru would be discovered dead in their beds. Yet, months turned into a year and that turned into a year and a half and slowly she became less and less sure of her or her friends' demise. His letter was clear. He had waited to be sure she would not leave, waited to learn their habits and fears and insecurities. He would be attacking soon, was probably attacking right now. She would have to warn them and hope that they would forgive her. First she would need her supplies because as much as Yusuke and the others had grown they would not immediately believe her. Kuwabara would try to blow it off as a joke. None of them would grasp the seriousness of the situation. Not unless she was already too late.

The thought hurried her along on her oar. Once she reached her room she did not even bother with the door but instead blew her cracked window open and raced inside. Ripping up her loose floorboard she quickly grabbed the top few letters and rushed back out the door. There was no time to look around or explain to her roommate the situation. She did not even flash her usually cheery smile. Within seconds she was back to the earth and heading to Yusuke's house. If anyone was going to be attacked it would be him first. Or Keiko. Since they now lived together, she would be just as likely to protect them both the faster she got there. Every ticking second sounded like a raging inferno in her mind. How long ago had he decided this? Could he have followed through with his threat and then sent her the warning? She saw Yusuke's lifeless eyes flash through her mind and burst forth again. He was unlikely to have been beaten, but he was not expecting any offenders and she did not even know what world this man was from. He could easily be a demon or worse.

Finally she saw the house. Giving another momentous kick of energy, she crashed through his window. Upon seeing nothing but he and Keiko eating dinner, she immediately felt foolish. They would probably be upset about that for a while. Instead, Keiko ran to her side and began to wipe blood from the glass off of her face. Her expression was worried, and Botan found she could not really blame her.

"What happened to you Botan, you look terrible!" Realizing that she was trembling, Botan forced herself to calm down. The moment she tried to speak her throat went dry and tears began to stream. Relief flooded her senses before she once again made herself gain control. Even if he had not attacked yet, there was a chance he would soon. They would need to know what was going on.

"Yeah, you look like you've seen a ghost or something Botan." Yusuke snickered at his own joke and for reasons unknown that calmed the tremor in her hands for just a moment.

"I haven't, but I might soon if I don't figure out how to do this." Closing her eyes she tried to prepare. She did not really get the chance as Keiko found the envelopes.

"What's this Botan? What does it mean 'Former'?" Turning it over in her hand, Keiko's inquiring brown eyes searched the blue paper for any clues as to its contents. "Does it mean former boss; former boyfriend?"

"I don't really know what it means or who it is. I've been receiving them for years." Tears welled up once more, but she brushed the sensation away. "You need to read them, and we've got to get you somewhere safe; all of you actually. If anyone could get ahold of the others, they need to hear this."

Yusuke looked at her seriously, all mocking gone. "Who did you piss off Botan? And why haven't you told us?" All she could do was shake her head. She knew they would be mad but there was no other way.

"No questions just yet please, we have to get ahold of—" Before she could repeat herself Kuwabara burst through the door.

"Oh. Hey Botan. Long time no see. Urameshi, I've got a bad feeling. You and Keiko have to get out of here, now."

"We aren't going anywhere until Botan explains—" Kuwabara was not listening as he gathered Botan up and grabbed Keiko's wrist.

"I'm not arguing Urameshi; we have to get out of here. Something bad is about to happen. Now." The red haired sensitive ran out of the house, an angry Yusuke on his heels.

"What's all this about?" They had just reached the street when their house was engulfed in flames as blue and bright as Hiei's. The three of their mouths dropped and all eyes turned to Botan.

"I assume you expect me to answer that." She looked around at them, hopeless. "I'm afraid I really don't know. These letters have always been a threat and a demand. Until two years ago, I had always followed the command and so no one had ever been hurt. I don't know what this man wants from me, but I'm sure I can't help." She buried her head in her hands and tried to think of any solution, anything she might have or know or do that he would want. But she had nearly nothing now, and the letters had never ceased.

"There must be something Botan. Let's go get the others and read through these letters. Maybe something in here will be some kind of clue."

"Is there anything at all that would correlate with the name Former? Maybe it's a name or a person that you offended? Was anyone fired around the time you started getting these?" Keiko still held the one she had picked up after Botan crashed through their window.

"Hey. There's something on there." Kuwabara took it and held it very near his face. "It's not strong, whatever it is. But it definitely has had something done to it."

"Look guys, we'll discuss it when we've got the group. My guess is that if they're attacking me and Keiko here, they'll probably go after everyone else first. Kuwabara, go get your sister and your family out of your place. I'll go and get Kurama, and he'll manage to get Hiei. We'll all meet up at the park tomorrow. Botan, you best be trying to figure out what this guy is up to."

"I will. Here, take these. So that you can know what I know."

The next day there was silence among the group. It had been a long while since they had all come together over something so unfortunate. Though everyone appeared to be well rested and unharmed, Botan looked far more worn. Her cuts had just begun to heal, and her eyes had dark circles under them. Despite that she maintained her usual cheery disposition. Even with her attempts, Kurama still looked at her strangely, as if he could see all her fractured nerves sticking out from her skin like tattling snakes. He was the only one that seemed to notice however, and so she continued on.

"Botan these sound terrifying. How have you been dealing with this all by yourself?" Ever the mother, Keiko was the first to speak up, brandishing the crisp yellowed paper like a whip. "Why didn't you try to tell any of us?"

To her surprise Kurama stepped up to her defense. "To be fair, she was probably rather scared. And with everything that's going on, knowing Botan, she probably felt it would be an intrusion on her part. She was wrong, but I can understand the worry. Besides, what was she supposed to come to us with? A mysterious person she knows nothing about threatening her over something she has no idea exists and demanding strange but not difficult tasks in return for her safety? The threats are in fact terrible, but I'm sure she's dealt with them since before we arrived. The first note in your hand looks as though it has gathered dust for a very long time." Keiko blushed, her lecture adequately silenced.

"Even still Botan, we may have been able to help. You think some little pipsqueak like this guy is going to get through us? We're practically legends." Kuwabara's declaration, though sweet, did not settle her stomach any.

"We have no idea who 'this guy' is, you imbecile. We don't know if we can take him." Hiei looked at the letter that Yusuke handed to him.

"And if all we have to go on is Former then we'll probably not figure out who it is. For Botan, former could mean anything. It could be former soul, former boss, former lover, former detective, or former worker or literally former anything."

"We'd best hope he doesn't mean former soul, as there have been thousands. And at least half of those were not friendly." Images of struggling, hurt souls played like a movie in her head, and she remembered with great clarity all the hundreds that had even attempted violence to make her take them back. The ones that fought the hardest were always the ones going into punishment. And though she knew that those with the most anger were the most immediately likely suspects, there was no way one of them could have sent these. "Souls would not have access to anything like this, at least not ones that would want to. If a soul goes into rest, they are at peace with themselves and their death. It is not possible that a soul at rest would be able to conjure the hatred in these letters. And a soul in punishment would never have the free time or the access to anything that would allow them to write a letter. Even if they did manage to write it, there would be almost no way for them to know where I am. This isn't like prison. There are no loopholes."

"I see. We can also rule out the lesser demons. Even most mid-level demons would not have this range of vocabulary, nor the patience to wait so long to enact any kind of violence. It appears that we are looking for either a human or a high to mid-level demon. Does that help you at all Botan?" Kurama was examining the papers.

"I know you want to help, but I've been searching for this guy for years. I've racked my brain; searched through files, watched security tapes … I've done everything I can think of. Nothing makes sense. And even if I could think of anyone at all that wanted to do me harm, there are details in there that make absolutely no sense. I thought they were sent to the wrong person when I received the first one; or someone was playing a joke on me. It was not until I kept receiving them that I realized the guy was serious."

"How long have you been getting these exactly?" Keiko reached out for her hand in comfort. Botan flinched away, the guilt and fear overriding her usual need for contact.

"I started getting them a few years after I became a ferry girl. I thought at first it was a hazing of some sort, or a test. Truly there was nothing as juvenile as hazing in the ferry girls. I brought it up once, but the other's just laughed it off. I think they thought I was joking. Not much usually happens to us directly. The only dangers to us usually are our charges." A pointed glance around the group reminded them of the countless situations she had been in for all of them.

"First things first, we have to look at the rest of these letters. How many do you got Botan?" Kuwabara was the first one to say anything that may even move them forward. "Maybe if they're all together we can figure out what that weird mojo is all over them."

"There is something strange about these letters. Are these always how they appear?" Kurama spoke as silken as always, but his question seemed so irrelevant.

"Well, yes. Uniformity is not uncommon in villains though Kurama."

"Not on such minute details. All the same envelopes for each letter, the same paper type, the same ink color. They even smell the same. But there is no trace of human or demon, as if they have never been touched by a single hand. Except yours, of course." He handed back the envelope that the team had passed around. "That it has remained consistent after all this time speaks to the determination of Former to remain unchanged. In fact, it could nearly be obsessive."

"Or it could be that he can't afford different paper. Come on guys, we need to get a head on this. Botan, can you meet up at that old field behind the school? We'll need to be able to look through all this creep's stuff. Keep a friend with you at all times. The last thing we need is to lose you to some crazed fan or whatever." Yusuke was already walking off, ever distracted by the dangers surrounding them. He sometimes seemed to have hardly grown up since that first day she met him and other times, like now, she knew he worried and carried more burdens than he would ever let on. "Kurama, you take the first watch. We'll figure it out from there."

"Thanks for… volunteering me." At best the red haired prodigy looked uncomfortable at the prospect.

"Well don't be too excited." Botan rolled her eyes and feigned hurt.

"I don't suppose we could stay at your place? My mother would not really be too pleased to see me bring a girl over for the night and not have been introduced to her even once. She has quite the good impression of me and I would hate to challenge that."

"Of course. I mean, is it safe?"

"Not any less safe than here." He smiled at her and she colored. The poor boy could make nearly any girl blush no matter what she thought of him.

They travelled to the spirit world in complete silence. She felt him staring her down with a question behind those jade eyes. Blood rushed around her ears and she tried to keep her mind focused. All of the determination in the world could not keep her eyes from searching the sky and trying to make out the form of any birds or harassing figures. The stress of years of being stalked and threatened left a heavy weight on her shoulders. And now she travelled with the added stress of an inquiring presence perched precariously on her oar behind her. She did not even know why he bothered to accompany her; he had his own ways to the spirit world. Surely he did not expect her to get attacked on the way home.

"Of course I would. We should not assume you are safe until this man is apprehended." At her surprised expression, he merely chuckled. "No, I cannot read your mind. That is merely the logical path of your thoughts. It is most assuredly what I would be thinking in your shoes."

"Have you ever been in my shoes? I mean, as infamous as you and Hiei are I would have assumed someone would have threatened you, the people you love, hunted you?"

"Of course. I never let them progress beyond the first threat. Hiei and I discarded any problems as they arose. That is how he got the impression of my ruthlessness which I always felt he over exaggerated. Then again, one never knows how others perceive them until they crawl inside their mind. Speaking of, I cannot help but notice… Yusuke?" The question may have been only a word, but it was enough.

"Oh Kurama, how do you always manage to see too much?" She shook her head, hiding her face behind her hands. "It's hopeless truly. I've known them way too long not to know better."

"Don't be ridiculous. Even if the relationship is hopeless lovesick eyes never can admit it. Trust me, I know." With his usual smile and understanding he patted her shoulder and once again fell into silence. His confession seemed bizarre to her. Who had Kurama encountered that had said no to him? She was a woman in love and even she would have had a hard time telling him no.

"I'm sorry to hear that. I wouldn't wish rejection on anyone." The words were slowly whispered to the wind, meant to slip away unheard.

"That's so noble of you. I wished all the time that she would be rejected so that I may have a chance."

"Kurama! You dog!" The mood was immediately alleviated. "My house is not exactly roomy… or private. It's a bit like a dorm room. Except I pay a lot of rent and utilities and have my own bathroom. So, I guess that's a plus." She looked around and tried to remember what else she needed to tell him. "Oh yes, that's right. There's no stairs to the ferry girl apartments. And you also aren't technically allowed to be here. As my charge, you're not supposed to come into my apartment here. It's unprofessional and whatnot. Just don't get caught, ok?"

"Right. Does Koenma even care about professionalism at this point with the Urameshi team?"

"Of course he does. It's one thing for me to hang out with you guys outside of work, it's another thing for me to invite one of you into my bedroom!"

"No worries. I'll sleep on the couch."

"We… We don't really have one." Kurama raised an eyebrow. "Well, we're rather busy you know. Spirits need to go all hours of the day, and they can't wait around for you to get done with your favorite television show. We used to have one but it just gathered dust and took up space. As you can see, there's not much of that to go around. So we got a chair and we make do."

"It must be rather depressing to go day in and day out dealing with death and people's highly emotional states, as well as their families and friends. I really admire that you stay so put together through all of that."

Uncomfortable at the second sore subject being poked at in a row, Botan tried to dispel the conversation. "You're awfully chatty today aren't you? I don't think I recall you talking this much the entire time we've known each other."

"We are trying to find Former, the man who's been threatening you, are we not? It would help to know about your routine and about the Botan behind that cheery façade. He'll be guaranteed to know what's going on in your life, in your head, in your heart. If you want to find him and protect others, you will have to face those demons yourself."

"Fine then, I'll face them myself. I don't recall you being part of that package!" Her voice sounded shriller than she wanted and her hands were balled into fists. She did not really know what she was mad about. Immediately she regretted her reaction. "I'm sorry, I just… It's been a long couple of days is all. Of course we need to go over these things. But just… Look, you're one of the smartest people on the team. Could this stay just between us? If you can't figure it out, I doubt Kuwabara or Yusuke can. And honestly, Hiei probably doesn't care much about all of this."

"Keeping secrets is probably not the best way to solve this problem, Botan." He sighed anyway and she knew he would keep her secrets regardless.

"Thanks, Kurama. I know I can count on you."

"Of course. Now, let's begin with those letters. Do you have the first one you received?"

"Well, yes, I do. They're over here, in the um… floor." She shuffled the broken board around and lifted the bundle of baby blue envelopes from the small hole. The stack was wider than she had anticipated, nearly spilling from her arms as she brought them over to her bedside desk. "I've gone through them countless times. I know I can't possibly glean more from them."

"I've much more hunting experience than you Botan. And whether you realize it or not, there are two parties in this game and one of them is the prey. The sooner we find out who he is, the faster we make sure we're the hunters."

"Right. Maybe you can find something I missed."

She watched as he meticulously handled every envelope, reading every elegantly scrawled page and arranged them in chronological order. That devil dated each one and signed every single one of them Former with the same loping, long letters in gold. Kurama picked through them and took down details on occasion, never looking up or even asking questions. He worked rather silently and quickly, spending no more than a few minutes on each piece of evidence. Although he did not make any noise and he did not change position his face grew more and more stern the longer he read. Aware of how gruesome some of the descriptions were, as well as how difficult some of the perpetrator's safety tasks were, she expected Kurama to become angry like Keiko and Yusuke had. There had been many occasions where she had been on the brink of admitting everything and begging for their help, but it always seemed so useless after she realized that this preceded even them. Now here was one of the least expected of all her teammates diligently doing his best to help. How had she allowed it to go this far?

"Botan. We have to talk about these letters." His voice was controlled, yet strained. His eyes had a look to them she had seen very few times in them.

"I know you're upset, and I can't blame you. I should never have let it get this far. I'm sorry." She was surprised when he let out a chuckle.

"I am upset, but not at you. It is as I said to Keiko earlier. You have been dealing with this for a very long time. Often people find it difficult to confront a problem they have learned to find helpless. What I was going to ask is about is a little different. Botan… What were you before you were a reaper?" He did not look at her, and his words were very careful.

"Before?" She shook her head. "No one was ever anything _before_ they were a reaper. We've always been…" But that didn't make any sense. She had to be trained to be a reaper, all the girls did. And some of the girls mentioned missing before, wanting to go back. She had always wondered where they wanted to go back to. "No, I'm sure of it. I would've known if we came from somewhere first."

"Not if Koenma made sure you never found out. Does he have any idea about any of this? Is there any chance that what I'm saying has any merit?" She knew by his tone that her denial did not mean anything.

"Do you mind if I ask him? He will find out regardless eventually. Would it not be best for you to confront him face to face?" The idea sounded easy, but she knew better. Koenma could be evasive and cunning. He put on that immature façade but she knew better. Kurama had not known him nearly as long as she had.

"I don't think so. What motive would he possibly have for hiding some past from me? And there's no way it could have been kept from me for so long." Her explanation seemed practical and slowed the panicked beating of her heart that had started slamming against her chest at the thought of a history she did not remember. In the back of her mind buzzed the question of her beginnings. She did not have a mother or father; she was not sprung from the ground. If she was neither human nor demon, what was she?

"That does not answer my first question. Would you mind if I ask him?" He was insistent.

She thought it over, knowing that she had very little choice. She had already hidden it for much too long. There was little hope that Kurama would let it go, and if he mentioned it to the rest of the group then they would never let it go without at least trying that route. The frantic beating returned. "I guess we can ask him. It couldn't hurt." She could not hide the tremor to her voice. This type of revelation would be nearly impossible to completely accept.

"Do not be afraid. Even if your past is full of demons, I and the others will be there to help."


End file.
